ADB_book_18 April.qxp - Himalayan Document Centre - icimod

Some of these have remained unresolved fordecades (Grosen 2000), which only shows the extentto which governments have been unconcernedabout removing conflicts. Research should clarifywho benefits from these legal contradictions andtheir impact. There has been a rush to pass newlaws, but few efforts to ensure that new laws do notconflict with earlier ones. Based on the manycontinuing contradictions, it is obvious that a newcommission is urgently needed to look into this veryserious matter.Some of the more obvious conflicts related tothe use of forest resources are listed below (Grosen2000):(i) There are differences in the amount of landthat can be owned under the Forest Act andthe Land Act. It would be interesting to seehow many cases have been recordedbecause of these conflicting provisions.(ii) The absence of a cadastral survey in manyareas has made it very difficult to separateprivate and government land, and thus madeit very difficult to identify encroached lands.Similar confusion has been noted amongcommunity forest groups.(iii) Provisions under the Forest Act and theNepal Mines Act overlap. The Forest Actmaintains that anything in a forest isgoverned by the Forest Act while the MinesAct maintains that all minerals are governedby the Mines Act.(iv) Provisions have been made forcompensating landowners when property isacquired for development schemes, but asland demarcation is not clear compensationhas often remained pending for a very longtime.(v) Similarly, many overlapping provisions havebeen found between the Forest Acts and theLocal Self Governance Act, which has greatlyhampered decentralization. The centralagencies responsible for the different Actshave not removed provisions regarding localresources, creating overlapping jurisdictionand confusion for the public.Problems in Community ForestryAlthough community forestry has been a successfulmodel for community-based management of forestresources in the Hills, it has not been completely freeof problems. While it was a very innovative approachfor rescuing parts of the hill forests from furtherdegradation, which accelerated after theGovernment took over all the forests in the country,over time new challenges and difficulties have beenidentified (Britt 2002).Problems within forest user groupsFormation of forest user groups has been animportant feature of the community forestryprogram. There has been an increasing tendency toform groups without adequate homework regardinggroup harmony based on traditional interactionswithin the community. Exclusion of communitymembers who belong to low caste anddisadvantaged groups, as well as those who may bepart-time users, is leading to tension in forest usergroups. Rules regarding sharing of benefits and costshave always been a major source of tension.Questions of personality clashes, differencesbetween active and inactive members, and fundmisuse and embezzlement are other problems notedin hastily formed user groups (Bhatia 1995; Springate-Baginski et al. 2003).Problems between user groupsOne of the most common problems between usergroups has been confusion with respect to the forestarea. Without clearly identifiable boundaries, there isoverlapping jurisdiction, and without good basesurvey maps the problems are arbitrarily put on holdto resurface again. Because of the lack of good maps,there have been instances of mistaken handover offorests that are temporarily resolved after intensenegotiations involving cumbersome administrativeand legal processes (Bhatia 1995; Springate-Baginskiet al. 2003).Problems Between Forest User Groups and theForest OfficeThe Forest Office has many discretionary powers,and without its active support, approval for acommunity forest group may never come. Manyrequirements need to be fulfilled before the ForestOffice can provide approval, and each of theserequirements can be a source of difficulties for theuser groups. Over time a lot of experience has beengained by user groups, but if the Forest Officeimposes difficulties, this experience may not beuseful. Traditional mechanisms for resolving localconflicts have weakened for a number of reasons.Having access to the Government and getting timelydecisions can be very difficult and costly for weakergroups without the right political linkages. A study ofland disputes (New Era 1989) showed that tenantshad to pay substantially more court expenses thanlandlords, and also encountered more delays.Community Forestry in the TeraiAttempts have been made to introduce communityforestry in the Terai, which unlike the Hills has noChapter 11: Environment and Conflict: A Review of Nepal’s Experience161